At eleven o’clock at night, the screeching of tires echoed outside Dragon Pavilion.
Karen Page pushed open the door and burst into the restaurant, a paper bag in hand, her blonde hair somewhat disheveled.
“Where’s Matt?
How is he?”
“Second floor.”
Shaun Vance stepped aside to let her through.
Karen practically ran up the stairs.
The moment she pushed open the door to the guest room, Matt coughed twice on the bed and slowly opened his eyes.
He instinctively turned toward Jessica beside the bed, his voice raspy.
“Thank…
thank you for saving me.”
Jessica quickly waved her hands.
“It was Boss Vance who healed you.
I just helped out.”
Matt struggled to sit up.
The upper half of his shredded Daredevil suit hung open, exposing the gruesome wounds underneath.
Karen stood frozen in the doorway.
Her gaze shifted from Matt’s face to the wound on his shoulder, and then to the iconic dark red suit.
The legend that circulated through Hell’s Kitchen at night—the masked vigilante.
“Matt…” Karen’s voice trembled.
“You…
these clothes…”
Matt’s expression froze.
A terrifying silence settled over the room.
Realizing the mood was off, Jessica quietly backed away to stand behind Shaun.
Shaun stood with his arms crossed, watching the drama unfold like a spectator in a crowd.
Karen’s eyes turned red.
“So all those ‘overtime’ nights…
you always came home injured, claiming you slipped or were just playing the Good Samaritan…”
“Karen,” Matt gave a bitter smile, “I…”
“Don’t speak.” Karen suddenly stepped forward.
Instead of interrogating him, she gently reached out to touch the wound on his shoulder.
“Does it hurt?”
Matt froze.
He remained silent for two seconds before whispering, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Leaning against the doorframe, Shaun chose that exact moment to chime in:
“Save the tender moment for later.
Mr.
Murdock, you owe me a medical fee.
Of course, you can also pay through legal consultation.”
Matt turned his head.
Though his eyes were blind, his radar sense had already locked onto Shaun’s location.
“Mr.
Vance,” he said, “thank you for saving my life.
I can sense…
that was no conventional medical treatment.”
“Your perception is sharp.”
Shaun walked into the room.
“As you can see, this world is becoming ‘unconventional.’ And the trouble you’ve been running into lately—Kingpin, Bullseye, and more—with your current abilities, you might not be so lucky next time.”
Jessica’s eyes lit up.
She realized Shaun was about to reveal something extremely important.
Shaun continued, “The Devil Fruits in my shop…
Tony Stark bought two, and the Director of SHIELD bought one.
You should have seen their effects on the news.”
Matt fell silent for a moment.
“Tonight…” his voice was deep, “I was originally going to ‘gather funds.’ I wanted to buy one for Karen for self-defense.
But I underestimated Kingpin’s trap.”
Shaun raised an eyebrow.
“I can lend it to you.
Ten million dollars.
Ninety out, a hundred and thirty back, compounding monthly.
Sign the contract, take the money, buy the fruit.”
“Ninety out, a hundred and thirty back?!” Karen’s eyes widened.
“Even loan sharks aren’t this predatory!”
Matt raised a hand to stop her.
He asked calmly, “What are the contract terms?”
…
Downstairs at the counter.
Matt had changed into the regular clothes Karen brought—a white shirt and gray suit trousers that concealed his wounds.
Though his face remained pale, his professional aura as a lawyer had returned.
Shaun pulled a freshly printed A4 sheet from an old-fashioned printer and handed it over.
Matt took the contract, his fingers carefully running across the paper.
His fingertips could sense the faint texture of the ink, his tactile sense sharp enough to “read” every single word.
Ten seconds later, he furrowed his brows.
“Mr.
Vance,” Matt looked up, “under New York State law and the federal Truth in Lending Act, this contract is completely void.”
Karen asked anxiously, “Where is it void?”
Matt pointed out line by line:
“First, the annual interest rate exceeds the legal ceiling by forty-seven times, falling squarely into the category of ‘unconscionably high.’ No court would ever enforce it.”
“Second, the uncapped compound interest clause—if monthly payments fall short, unpaid interest rolls into the principal to accumulate more interest next month.
That’s a classic predatory snowball trap, long prohibited by federal law.”
“Third,” his finger stopped at a specific line, “the debt inheritance clause: in the event of the borrower’s death, their spouse, children, or legal heirs must continue to repay the debt…
In modern society, this is essentially a slave contract.”
Matt placed the contract on the counter and turned to Shaun.
“This is a blatantly illegal document.
Any licensed attorney could have it invalidated in five minutes.”
Shaun shrugged.
“So?
Are you borrowing or not?”
The air stayed silent for five seconds.
Matt calculated rapidly in his mind.
Kingpin’s underground casino processed over twenty million dollars a week.
If he could bust a single stronghold, the seized illicit cash would be more than enough to pay off this debt…
More importantly, he needed power.
Not just for self-preservation, but to protect Karen.
“I’ll borrow it,” Matt said.
“Matt!”
Karen grabbed his wrist.
Matt gently squeezed her hand and murmured, “Karen, I need power.
Not just to protect myself…
but to protect you.”
He picked up a pen and wrote his full name in the borrower’s signature space:
*Matthew Michael Murdock*
Shaun nodded in satisfaction, pulling out his phone to operate it.
Thirty seconds later, Matt’s phone buzzed.
A bank text message: [Account Credited: $10,000,000.00]
Matt smiled bitterly.
“You could have just given me the fruit directly.”
“Procedure is important,” Shaun smiled.
“Now, please transfer the ten million back.”
Matt operated his phone and completed the transfer.
Almost instantly, Shaun retrieved a fruit from beneath the counter.
It had dark brown skin with raised spiral ridges, shaped like an enlarged pinecone.
Just looking at it gave off a heavy, dense impression.
“Paramecia: Press-Press Fruit.”
Shaun introduced it:
“The user can freely manipulate the gravity of themselves or objects they touch.
Upon awakening, it’s said to create localized gravity fields or even pull down small celestial bodies—though that depends on your own development.”
He paused and added:
“All Devil Fruit users share a common weakness: seawater.
Contact causes weakness, and submersion temporarily strips your powers.
Showers are fine, just don’t go swimming in the ocean.”
Matt took the fruit without eating it right away.
He lifted his head, “looking” toward Shaun.
“Have you eaten a fruit too?”
“I’m the seller, not the diner,” Shaun smiled.
Recalling the “One fruit per lifetime” rule on the menu, Matt asked no further questions.
He lifted the fruit and took a bite.
His expression instantly contorted.
“How is it?” Karen asked worryingly.
Enduring the severe nausea, Matt forced himself to swallow it.
“Like chewing asphalt soaked in diesel…”
In the next second, however, he felt a surge of warm energy spread from his stomach, flowing into every limb and bone.
He set the fruit down, closing his eyes to feel the sensation.
He slowly raised his right hand.
*THUMP!*
The glass cup on the counter made a heavy, muffled sound.
It didn’t shatter.
Instead, as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer, it sank directly into the wooden counter, remaining completely intact while embedded two centimeters deep.
Matt opened his eyes.
“I can…” he whispered, “‘feel’ the lines of gravity.”
[Ding!]
The system prompt rang in Shaun’s mind:
[New Sync Target: Matt Murdock (Press-Press Fruit)]
[Sync Rate: 0.3%]
[Ability Branch Unlock Preview: Gravity Control (Activated), Localized Weightlessness (0%), Gravity Field Generation (Locked)]
[Devil Fruit Base Reward: Six Powers – Tempest Kick Complete Training Method]
A subtle perception sprouted within Shaun’s body.
He could now faintly judge the “sense of weight” of objects, as if he had gained an invisible sense of touch.
After seeing off Matt and Karen, Shaun turned around to find Jessica still standing at the foot of the stairs, staring at him with bright eyes.
“Is there something on my face?” Shaun asked.
Jessica walked over and whispered, “Boss…
can I buy a Devil Fruit too?”
Shaun replied, “Of course.
Ten million dollars.”
Jessica instantly wilted.
“I…
I don’t even have a thousand.”
“I can lend it to you,” Shaun said casually.
“Same contract as Matt’s.”
Jessica shook her head violently like a rattle.
“No way!
Ninety out, a hundred and thirty back…
If I borrow that, I’ll be working for you for the rest of my life!”
She stuck her tongue out, regaining her lively smile.
“I’ll stick to being a good waitress for now~ Shift’s over for today!”
Grabbing her backpack from behind the counter, she jogged out the door, the bell above the glass door chiming merrily.
Shaun chuckled softly and locked up the restaurant.
In the backyard, at two in the morning.
Moonlight spilled over the concrete ground, gleaming with a cold white light.
Shaun stripped off his shirt, exposing his lean, muscular frame to the night air.
A faint, ghostly blue glow hovered on the surface of his skin.
This was an external change brought by the increased sync rate of the Revive-Revive Fruit.
First, he practiced “Iron Body.”
Tensing his entire musculature, his skin took on a slate-gray tint.
*Thump!
Thump!
Thump!*
He swung a steel pipe with full force against his arms, chest, and back, producing dull, heavy thuds like iron striking solid wood.
Every single hit was enough to fracture an ordinary person’s bones, yet on him, it didn’t even leave a red mark.
Next was “Paper Arts.”
Closing his eyes, he sensed the airflow.
Over twenty small bells were hung around the backyard, ringing at the slightest touch.
Shaun wove, turned, and ducked through the array of bells, moving as light as a piece of paper.
Ten minutes passed without a single bell making a sound.
Sweat dripped from his chin.
“Even though the sync rate grows quickly, basic physical training can’t be neglected…” Shaun panted slightly, adjusting his breathing.
He recalled the lore from One Piece:
When Iron Body is mastered to its absolute limit, it is said to awaken “Armament Haki.”
That top-tier power capable of directly striking the true bodies of Logia users and hardening one’s defense.
The advanced form of Paper Arts was “Observation Haki”—predicting attacks, reading emotions, and sensing all living things.
Kaido’s famous words echoed in Shaun’s mind:
*”Haki transcends all fruit abilities.”*
The corners of Shaun’s mouth curled up.
Training the ultimate Haki from One Piece inside the Marvel universe?
Just thinking about it was entertaining.
At three in the morning, he concluded his training.
Steam rose off his body in white plumes, vividly stark against the cold night.
Before returning indoors, he called up the system panel:
[Current Sync List]
Revive-Revive Fruit (Tony Stark): 90%
Op-Op Fruit (Pepper Potts): 15%
Mirror-Mirror Fruit (Carl Miller): 9%
Chop-Chop Fruit (Natasha Romanoff): 5%
Press-Press Fruit (Matt Murdock): 0.3%
[Worldline Fluctuation Rate: 43%]